New Moon in Leo: Play, Practice and Passion

Cancer, being a Cardinal sign, kicks off the season, sets the tone and the template, not just for its own solar transit, but for the whole Summer. A Cardinal sign initiates the new season, hits the reset button—it sows the seeds that will come to their fullest expression and fruition, and be harvested, later on.

The New Moon in Leo occurs this year just as the Leo solar transit begins. The Sun rules Leo, and is enthroned there when it returns, deep in the hottest days of Summer, the Solstice long past, looking at Lughnasadh is on the horizon. A Fixed sign, Leo’s heat and light reflect the intensity of the heart of this extreme season, when everything is growing, blooming, and bearing fruit. Under the intensity of the Leo Sun, the immense power of life force unrestrained. With Sun, Moon, Mercury and Mars all in Leo, the fiery power of Summer becomes even more potent.

For all Cancer’s focus on the home, family, and our roots, there is a wild streak in there as well, an innate attraction to the feral, the wilderness and the wildness in ourselves, which response instinctively to the movements of seasons and the stars, just as wolves will howl at the moon. As the Summer ripens into Leo, that wildness ripens as well, turns sweeter and thicker as the light turns more golden, as the vegetables in the garden stand ready for first harvest. Leo the Lion certainly brings that wildness, along with a fiery force of solar energy, to the hottest part of the Summer. But Leo’s powers of creativity, play, and passion deepen that unbridled wildness, into something even more luxurious. Leo brings the childlike qualities of pure joy and playfulness, but also the will and energy to refine one’s creative vision through practice and devotion. Leo’s innate passion requires the application of discipline to come into its fullest expression, requires the precision and effortlessness that only comes through practice and commitment.

As we celebrate the New Moon in Leo today, we call in new beginnings of all kinds. We also stand in a moment when the first fruits of the harvest are starting to come in, when we are able to count our blessings, and maybe even pat ourselves on the back, for work well done. We can follow our bliss, where it leads us, in these long, sweet, languorous days of Summer.

Leni Hester is a Witch and writer from Denver, Colorado. Her work appears in the Immanion anthologies "Pop Culture Grimoire," "Women's Voices in Magick" and "Manifesting Prosperity". She is a frequent contributor to Witches and Pagans and Sagewoman Magazines.